Google asked a federal judge to secure “competitively sensitive data” that may be revealed during the Justice Department’s investigation into AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Google said the data it provided to the investigation is related to its Android operating system and it fears the information could be leaked to the press or its competitors. “Without such additional protection, Google and other non- parties could find their confidential information — such as Google’s business plans related to Android — in the hands of competitors (or their competitors’ consultants), or even in newspapers, without having had prior notice of its disclosure,” Google said. The U.S. government filed a lawsuit in opposition of the merger on August 31st, noting that the merger would “remove a significant competitive force from the market.”
